Fridge Problems

[tonyfletcher]

I have a Dometic Fridge in the MH, works well on 12v and electric, but is a devil to start on Gas.

I select the gas, the orange light flashes with the clicking noise, I push in the control Knob and I here the gas light. I hold the buttom in for at least 30 secs and the gas goes out and the orange igniter flashes again.

I sometimes have to repeat this 4/5 times before it light?

Anyone got any clues or similar problems/or solutions??

Cheers

Tony

[Guest JudgeMental]

can take a while for the gas to get up there if van has been standing a while....Have you lit the hob? that helps I think :-S

[tonyfletcher]

Thankyou for your reply

I have tried that with the hob, it also appears not to matter if we have been travelling a while or not. It has failed to start after visiting 2 camp sites only 20 miles apart (40 mins)

Thanks again

Tony

[Dave Newell]

If it is a manual fuel selection model then try waggling the selector switch in the gas position, it has been known for dirty contacts in the switch to cause this problem. Other possibilities are a failed thermocouple (doubtful as you indicate it will eventually stay lit), or faulty gas valve. It is just possible that the thermocouple is not getting a good enough earth connection at the burner end so it could be worth removing it and cleaning the mating surfaces.

 

D.

[rolandrat]

check that you are getting good flames on your cooker first, if not you could have a faulty gas regulator so your fridge wont work either. I'm assuming that your gas bottle is ok

[scramblers]

Dave Newell - 2010-10-29 3:50 PM

 

If it is a manual fuel selection model then try waggling the selector switch in the gas position, it has been known for dirty contacts in the switch to cause this problem. Other possibilities are a failed thermocouple (doubtful as you indicate it will eventually stay lit), or faulty gas valve. It is just possible that the thermocouple is not getting a good enough earth connection at the burner end so it could be worth removing it and cleaning the mating surfaces.

 

D.

 

I had a similar problem last year last travelling in France - sometimes the fridge would light on gas, sometimes it wouldn't! But when I managed to light it it stayed lit.

 

I eventually traced the problem to a loose screw in the gas burner assembly preventing a good earth to the spark anode. Cleaned the area and tightened the screw, have not experienced any further problems since.

[Stuart]

I had a similar problem on a manual selection model.

I was told by a Dometic engineer that the "manual" valve was not opening far enough when pressed in so not heating the thermo couple enough. Try taking the knob off, put a tiny bit of grit or something in the base of the knob then refit it. The shaft will then be pushed further in. Sounds far fetched but it did work for me.

Let us know how you get on.

 

HTH

 

Stuart

[747]

I recently had a problem with my water heater which turned out to be a thermocouple. The steel piece had somehow become loose in the ceramic section, allowing it to turn slightly. A new thermocouple cured the problem.

 

I would certainly check the thermocouple for position and quality. Motorhomes can suffer from vibration.